THE SACRED MONKEY OF INDIA. 43 



among his descendants. A ruling family of Indian princes claim to be 

 descendants of Huneman, and proudly claim the title of " the tailed 

 Rama." High is the honor still paid to this sacred ape. Death is the 

 punishment of any violence offered to him ; and the Hindoos allow him 

 to rob their gardens or steal from their houses with impunity. In 

 Benares the streets are full, the houses covered with these holy animals, 

 and any injury provokes a tumult. Hiigel relates that a fakir called 

 some of these apes to him, and then gave them nothing to eat ; three 

 of the oldest attacked him, he drove them off with his staff; the populace 

 at once took the side of the apes, and gave the man a good beating. 

 Bishop Heber relates that two English officers, who shot an ape near 

 Bindrabund, were driven into the River Jumna and drowned by a fanatic 

 mob of Brahmins and devotees. Great commotion was excited at Kish- 

 nagur when, in compliance with a petition of the reforming party in 

 India, the government destroyed five hundred of these larcenous deities. 



Apart from their thievish propensities these apes are attractive crea- 

 tures. A crowd of them will assemble, disperse with magical celerity, 

 and in a couple of minutes reassemble. They mount with incredible speed 

 to the tops of the trees, descend with equal swiftness, leap from tree to 

 tree, and in a few minutes traverse the whole garden backwards and 

 forwards without touching the ground. In youth their head is round, 

 and they are easily tamed ; but as the shape of the skull alters, their dis- 

 position alters. The skull becomes flatter, the ape more brutal; he 

 becomes dull instead of bright, violent instead of cunning, and has 

 scarcely anything in common with his youth. 



In the forests they form numerous bands under the leadership of an 

 old male, under whose guidance they rob and plunder the neighborhood, 

 or undertake distant expeditions. Strange tales are told of their wander- 

 ings ; they are said to visit at regular intervals of many years certain 

 holy groves, stay there a few days, and then mysteriously return to their 

 distant home. Wherever they appear they become an object of solicitude 

 to the pious Hindoo. The sacred fig-tree is their favorite dwelling, and 

 snakes their chief aversion. They are said to watch till the reptile is 

 asleep, then seize it behind the head, and dash its brains out against a 

 stone. 



Like all the apes the Huneman is devoted to its young. Duvancel 

 shot one that had its young in its arms. The dying mother collected all 

 her strength, took the little one and placed it on a bough. " I could 



